


Familia Ante Omnia

by AshCommaMan



Category: Doctor Who, Doctor Who (1963), Doctor Who (2005)
Genre: Angst, Canon Related, Character Study, Family, Gen, One Shot, The Time War, big finish productions don't interact gnriogrn, canon sort of compliant, i'm soft and i wanted to share my headcanon about what happened to susan, pre-new who, this does not have a happy ending unfortunately
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-04-19
Updated: 2020-04-19
Packaged: 2021-03-02 02:01:13
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,944
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23727226
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/AshCommaMan/pseuds/AshCommaMan
Summary: The call has gone out: Gallifrey marches to war. All living Time Lords are ordered to return home. But there's one Time Lord who won't be reporting for duty.Familia ante omnia: family above all
Relationships: David Campbell/Susan Foreman
Comments: 4
Kudos: 15





	Familia Ante Omnia

The ominous ring of the cloister bell humming deep from inside the TARDIS drew the Doctor from his work on the console. He feared the worst: there had been whispers amongst the Zygons, panic in the colonies of Killen-Deir. And he had just heard that the Star Pollinators had withdrawn, like animals before an earthquake. 

A ring of the cloister bell — he had told Adric that it was a call to man the battle stations. He could sense disaster on the horizon in the universe, swelling like a balloon, ready to burst into chaos. 

He made his way towards the sound, not really knowing where else to go to receive the message. 

Inside the cloister room it was ominously dark, only a faint red flashing as the bell continued to ring — deafeningly loud now. He drifted towards a panel and flipped the lights on. 

“Alright then,” he called into the room. “I’m here, what do you want?”

An image of a young woman, dressed in golden robes signifying her as the Castellan of the current High Council, fizzled into view. Leave it to the Time Lords to be able to invade every corner of his home. 

“Doctor,” she said, her deep voice booming through the room. “War has come to Gallifrey. All Time Lords are being called to return home to aid in the fight.”

His hearts chilled in his chest. This was exactly what he was afraid of. 

An interplanetary war involving Time Lords was never just a regular war. The ripples of their involvement were felt in the farthest corners of the universe for millenia afterwards. For a bunch of stuffy bureaucrats, vowing never to interfere, they certainly made a sizeable splash. 

“A war?” he asked finally, after his voice returned. “With whom?”

“Old enemies of yours: the Daleks. They have already recruited allies, as have we. You know of their barbarity and their love of war; we desperately need the aid of every living Time Lord. We need your help, Doctor.”

“Are you asking? Or is that an order, Castellan?” He smiled, though it wasn’t polite. After all these years, he was still being tugged around by the Council, doing their dirty work, getting involved so they could maintain their precious moral superiority. 

“You are not the only one who has been recalled, Doctor. Many of our people remain out in the universe. We are calling them all.”

So an order, then. With dire consequences if disobeyed. 

He squared his shoulders. “As you command, Castellan.” He paused. “Oh, before you go — who’s the President, nowadays? It’s been an awful long time since I’ve paid a visit.”

Her eyes shifted to the side and back. “Our high lord Rassilon has returned, and retained his right to the presidency.”

“ _ Rassilon _ ?!” He waved his hand in the air, trying to grasp at the words to express his disbelief. “But he’s been dead for  _ eons _ . And you just let him back into the chair?! Do you not remember what happened the last time!?”

“The laws of our society are clear enough, Doctor. He has promised a swift end to the war, and to lead our people into a golden age; ascension at last.”

He stuttered out further objections, but she cut him off. “The matters of the council are of no interest to you, Doctor; we eagerly await your return home.”

With that, the Castellan disappeared and the room was silent again. 

“Damn it to Hell,” he muttered. His hand flew to his mouth and he chewed anxiously on his cuticle as he returned to the console room. They would expect him to come immediately. But he couldn’t. He knew that the call would go out to all the Time Lords. They’d find a way, no matter how far away. 

He set coordinates in the TARDIS, praying that now, in his time of need, this old ship would cooperate; he didn’t have time. He would have to hide her before the Time Lords found her. 

A quick scan as he landed showed that he was, blessedly, in the right time and place. The twenty-second century, twenty years after he had left Susan on Earth. It had been so long since then for him, and so short a time for her. Of course, there was that time on Gallifrey during his fifth incarnation but — that had hardly felt like a reunion at all. He had sensed, even then, below all the love and loyalty she had felt for him, a touch of resentment and deep grief. What would she say now when she saw him? Would she forgive him, for what he was about to do? 

Taking a moment to gather his thoughts — and, he was reluctant to admit, his courage — he stepped outside of the TARDIS. 

He hadn’t known what he should expect from an Earth twenty years after its devastation at the hands of the Daleks.

The scars still remained, of course; he doubted the Earth would be free of the remnants of the invasion for centuries yet. But there was color, there were buildings, new and whole. There were people milling around, clean people, smiling people; there were  _ children _ . 

He smiled, fighting back tears. This was why he traveled: no matter what happened, no matter what horrors blighted the universe, life always recovered. Life always moved on. 

How he was going to find Susan was an incredible task, but he supposed he would have to find a way. 

He started asking people about David Campbell, if anyone knew his name. He thought perhaps he would have risen to prominence in the time of uncertainty after the Dalek invasion. But no one admitted to knowing him. 

He checked the coordinates again; this  _ was _ the same city. Yes, he remembered that river, he remembered that broken down bridge. 

He found a message directory building. Perfect! What else to do but look them up in the phonebook?

He found Susan after a few tries: Susan Foreman-Campbell. Foreman had always been a made up name, something for humans to call her since they would never be able to pronounce her Gallifreyan name, but his hearts bloomed at how wholly she had accepted it as her own. 

He found a messaging address, and procured directions from the young man working at the counter. It was a few miles, but a walk would do him good — not to mention, of course, he didn’t trust the TARDIS to be as reliable a second time. 

He came upon a small set of flats. The building was simple: just gray concrete and windows. But the walls had been painted with beautiful murals depicting flowers and love and victory over the Daleks, painted and touched up with loving care. 

“Humans,” he said to himself. “Always finding the beauty in violence.”

He climbed the few flights of stairs to David and Susan’s floor. Now that he was here, now that he had a plan for what he had to do, in case she wanted to go, his hearts were pounding a horribly loud four-beat in his ears. 

With a trembling hand, he reached up and rang the doorbell. 

Shuffling inside, a call. 

The door opened, and before him, there she was. No longer a teenager: a woman. Full grown and just as beautiful as she had always been. 

Tears flooded into his eyes and he smiled. “Susan,” he whispered. 

Her eyes immediately lit up with recognition. Time Lords always recognized one another; they could sense the edges of one another’s consciousnesses, the fuzzy feel, the iron taste of a telepathic field. 

“Grandfather!” she shouted, and squealed in joy. She threw her arms around his shoulders and pressed her face into his neck. He squeezed her hard. He knew it would be the last time he would be able to hold her like this.

She pulled away and wiped her face, and then reached out and thumbed his tears away. “You’ve regenerated,” she said quietly, stroking his face.

“I have,” he said. “I can see you haven’t.”

“I’m much more careful than you, Grandfather.”

She led him by the hand into the flat, where David was standing in the living room looking confused. 

“David, you remember my grandfather, don’t you? The Doctor.”

David furrowed his brow at him, as if doubting his memory of the Doctor’s appearance. 

“Regeneration, remember?”

“Oh! Right.”

“I only told him a few years ago,” she explained. “It doesn’t come up often so sometimes he forgets that I’m not entirely human.”

“How have you been, David?” the Doctor asked, crossing the room and extending a hand. 

“Well enough I suppose Doctor. Better than we were before you came.”

“Yes, everything seems in much better repair.” Oh dear God, it was time for small talk. 

Somehow, he needed to get Susan to his TARDIS. How was he going to explain this to David? He still wasn’t even sure he was doing the right thing, but whenever he thought of her, his granddaughter, the light of his life, being on the front line, having to face Daleks again — this was his only choice. He couldn’t let her sacrifice herself for the Time Lords. They didn’t deserve her. 

“So why are you here, Grandfather? Surely you weren’t just in the neighborhood.”

“Oh, uh—” he chuckled nervously. “Well, I was trying to find you, believe it or not. I figured… it was time I returned, like I promised.”

“It’s been quite a long time, you know.”

“Yes, yes, and I’m sorry about that Susan, you must believe me — you know how the TARDIS is, she never lands in the place I want this was all a fluke, really.”

“And you’re all alone?”

“What? Oh — yes, for right now at least.”

“You ought to mend that.”

“Yes, oughtn’t I.”

There was a heavy pause between them then, the Doctor fussing with one of the ruffles poking out of his sleeve, Susan watching him. 

“Would you like to come to the TARDIS? I could make you tea. I think there’s still a few of your things floating around. Tops of yours keep popping up in drawers and things.”

She laughed. “Sure, Grandfather, I’ll come have tea with you.” She looked over at David. “D’you want to come?”

“Oh, that’s alright love, I wouldn’t want to get in the way of you and your grandfather.” 

She leaned down and pecked him on the cheek before heading to the door and putting on her coat. 

As they walked toward the TARDIS, she asked him question about the years they had been apart, about all the friends he had made and what they were doing, about all the things he had done and seen. 

They laughed and she hung on his arm like she used to, and he stroked her hair and kept her close, having to make an effort to keep the smile looking genuine. 

They went into the TARDIS and she looked around the new interior in wonder. “You redecorated.”

“Do you like it?”

“It’s awfully dark.”

He looked around, having not noticed before. “Hm. I suppose it is. Anyway, sit you there, I’ll go get you some tea.”

He went to the kitchen and returned with a tray, porcelain and sugar and milk atop it. He set it down on the low coffee table and sat across from Susan.

She smiled at him. “I know why you came, Grandfather.”

“That’s because I told you, my dear.”

“No, you didn’t. You pretended to tell me. I’m a Time Lord too, you know, I can sense your fear from here.”

His blood turned cold under his skin. “Have they contacted you?”

She nodded. “This morning. They said they’d send a TARDIS to collect me. I knew they wouldn’t send you, so as soon as you showed up I knew what you wanted.”

“So… are you going back?”

“I don’t have a choice, do I? It’s our responsibility.”

“You don’t have to fight, Susan. You can—”

“What, hide? Are  _ you  _ going to hide?”

“No, I’d never be able to hide from them for long enough.”

“Then I’m not going to either.”

He set his teacup down. “Susan you don’t understand. The Daleks and the Time Lords, trapped in a war? It will be  _ nothing  _ but death and destruction. We don’t even know if we can win.”

“Then isn’t it our responsibility to do all we can to help ensure we  _ do _ ?”

“No, not you!” He stopped, taking a deep breath. “You’re the most important thing in my life, Susan. I don’t want to see you on the battlefield. I put you through so much already. I just want you to be able to enjoy your life here, with David. The High Council shouldn’t be able to take all that away.”

“I’m not special, Grandfather. I don’t deserve the life I have anymore than anyone else does.”

“I think you do.”

She sighed and rolled her eyes. She stood and crossed the room away from him, her back to him. 

“Susan…”

“No, Grandfather, don’t.”

He stood as well. He stepped across the console room quietly, and pressed the pads of his fingers to her temples. 

Susan went rigid and turned on him. “Grandfather no, what are you doing—?!” Her mind fought back against his, and she thrashed at him trying to push him away. 

“Susan, please, my love, don’t fight it, just let it take you.” He held her tightly in one arm, fighting against her desperate kicks and thrashing. The other hand cupped her face. He projected deep, calm, refreshing sleep into her mind, and gradually, her struggles became weaker until she went entirely limp in his arms. 

His eyes blurred with tears as he brought her over to the couch. “I’m sorry, I’m so sorry,” he whispered to her. He knew she couldn’t hear him; but he felt like he needed to apologize to her anyway.

He programmed a chameleon arch, setting it to human. All the while he tried to think about what he could tell David. Would David hate him? It didn’t really matter, he supposed, but would he decide to free Susan’s mind, and all of this would have been for nothing?

The chameleon arch helmet dropped down from the ceiling and he dragged it over to the couch where Susan was laying. Could he bear to put her through the pain of her entire body being rewritten? His granddaughter, who had never even regenerated?

He sat her up and placed the helmet on her, stroking her face briefly. 

He placed a small watch into the slot on the helmet, and then flipped a switch. The lights began flashing and Susan screamed in pain. 

He couldn’t watch, he did what he could to ignore the sound of her pain. It only had to be a few minutes. Only a few minutes… a few minutes…

When it was over, and the lights came back on, Susan collapsed to the side, sleeping peacefully once again. He took the helmet off, came to sit beside her, and pressed his hands to her temples. 

She awoke suddenly with a gasp, looking at him in confusion for a moment. She smiled at him. “Oh, good afternoon, Doctor Smith. Session over already?”

He smiled at her, trying to keep the tears from his eyes. “Yes, unfortunately. I think you’re doing well enough that we don’t need to see each other anymore. You’re recovering marvelously.”

“Am I? Oh, that’s good to hear.” She smiled dazedly at him. “Well, I had better be getting home.”

“Yes, let me walk you.”

They walked back to the flat, and Susan excused herself to bed, saying that she had a wicked headache. 

The Doctor met David’s gaze and gestured to the couch. 

“What’s wrong with her?” he asked. 

He let out a breath. “Well… the short version is, there’s a war on our home planet, and our people are calling all of us back. I didn’t want to take her away from here, to fight in a war we’re not likely to win. I didn’t want to put her in danger. So… I used a piece of technology and rewrote her DNA. She’s completely human now.”

“Can you reverse it?” 

He pulled out the watch from his coat pocket. “This contains all the essence of Susan as a Time Lady. If ever you  _ need to _ , have her open it, and the process will reverse. But… I think she might be happier if she stays this way. Time Lords and humans… when we  _ mix _ , when we interact... It’s just heartbreak.”

David took the watch tentatively, looking between it and the Doctor, as though he wasn’t sure if he had done them a favor, or if he had done something horribly cruel. Frankly, the Doctor wasn’t sure himself.

Then he pocketed it, stood, and extended a hand. “Well Doctor. I don’t understand the half of it. But I’d imagine it wasn’t easy. Thank you, for protecting her. I’m sure if she knew she would be grateful.”

The Doctor shook his hand. “I wouldn’t be so sure about that, David.”

With that, he turned and left the flat. He told himself not to look back as he went, but he couldn’t help but take a glance at the window that would have been the bedroom. Maybe he would come back after the war was over — if he was still alive by then. But would she forgive him for what he had done? Should he just leave her to live a human life with the man she loved?

There was no time for thoughts like that now; the Doctor had been called back to Gallifrey. He needed to report for duty. 

**Author's Note:**

> Thanks for reading!! Let me know if you enjoyed. 
> 
> (As a note, in case it wasn't obvious in-text: i don't approve of what the Doctor does in this fic (even tho it's my headcanon gnriogr) I understand that it's cruel for him to make a decision for Susan and take away her autonomy. But the Doctor is more or less in the business of forcing Susan's hand because he thinks it's what's best for her.)


End file.
